The three of us have not been anywhere alone together in YEARS so we decided to pop up to Boston tomorrow to catch the Red Sox/Yankees game (go Sox!) and I find myself in need of a light jacket. My closet is sorely lacking since I lost weight and there was not a spare minute to sew anything! Off I went to the Ft. Lauderdale Galleria this afternoon in hopes of finding *something* – ANYTHING that would work well with jeans. I do have a cute little belted jean jacket but denim on top and bottom is just too much in my opinion. I know it’s just a baseball game but, well, I just didn’t want to do it if I didn’t have to.

I have to say, RTW is really not impressing me much right now. Yes, the styles are cute, but, for the most part, they just aren’t very flattering to me. I care about fashion but care more about how it looks on me! I found a lot of double-breasted trench jackets (cute but not so great unless worn closed and belted), full retro styles and enough babydoll styles to make me want to spit up. Lucky for us, we are not at the mercy of RTW manufacturers! And honestly, I haven’t seen that many new patterns that blow my skirt up either so I’m thankful to have a nice stash. :-)

Back to my jacket, I was hoping for a cute nipped-in waist in corduroy, velveteen or suede but it was not to be. I headed to Dillard’s as a last resort and spotted a taupe corduroy blouson zip jacket by Gianni Bini as I got off the escalator. Blouson? Really? Hmmm, I had serious doubts about that being in any way figure-flattering. After I’d scoured every department I decided to just try it on anyway because at this point I was going to have to wear the denim jacket. You know what? It was cute, cute, cute! The updated blouson style is much more slim and trim than it was back in the 70’s, very flattering without being overly fitted. Sure, it’s no Marc Jacobs – I love his jackets but can’t ever button them over the bust anyway – but it was inexpensive and will serve me well for the handful of times I’ll need a jacket here in Florida. I know it looks very young on the model here but imagine it with a pair of jeans instead of the mini skirt!

This is one of those styles that is super quick to whip up because the fitting is so minimal. I have several beautiful corduroys and stretch velveteens in my stash and would love to make a few more so that I have some choices when cooler weather rolls around. In searching for patterns, I found:

Neue Mode 23330 – don’t forget they are going out of business so get it while you can!

Kwik-Sew 3491

Onion 1022

I will probably go with the Onion pattern as I could easily add a yoke and gathers (great if your bust is fuller but you want a trim look) as on the original. Although I do like the princess seams and in-seam pockets of the Neue Mode pattern. Decisions, decision… But, really, any of these would take only minutes to fit and a couple of hours to whip up so stay tuned…

I love any jacket that turns unrelated pieces into an outfit, and as we’ve complained to each other before, jackets suitable for Florida are hard to find. This style is perfect, and would be darling in a wide range of fabrics, from casual to dressy, knits or woven. Kind of an upgraded hoodie. Hmm, maybe maybe something velvety, with a rhinestone zipper…. or a textured sweater knit with ultrasued trim.. You’ve got me thinking.